Welsh Water targeted in legal action over river Wye

The legal firm taking court action against a large Herefordshire employer over pollution in the area’s rivers now also has the local water company in its sights.

Leigh Day launched a civil claim last March against Hereford-based poultry supplier Avara Foods, along with farming group Freemans of Newent, over what it claimed was their contribution to damaging nutrient pollution in local waterways.

In May the law firm expanded its heavily publicised action to include Avara’s joint parent company, US food and farming giant Cargill, sending them an initial “letter before action” in July. The companies deny the allegations.

Leigh Day has since advertised widely through various channels for people affected by the issue to join the legal action, leading to over 1,500 organisations and individuals joining the move, and has now set up an office in Hereford to coordinate the case.

It has now expanded the legal move to include Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, which manages water supply and sewerage in the river Wye catchment on both sides of the border, including most of Herefordshire.

Damaging phosphorus and nitrates are present in discharges from water company’s treatment plants, just as they are from manure from the area’s many chicken farms which is used locally as a fertiliser, Leigh Day says.

It has now also sent Welsh Water a letter before action, claiming these discharges have given rise to problems with odour, insect swarms, biodiversity loss and poor water quality, affecting residents’ enjoyment of the river and also local businesses.

Leigh Day partner Oliver Holland, who is leading the claim, said: “We believe that the evidence points to Welsh Water as a major contributor to the pollution of the Wye, Usk and Lugg.”

The move is supported by national campaign group River Action, whose chair Charles Watson said it “is shaping up to be one of the most significant pieces of litigation over river pollution in the UK”.

A spokesperson for Welsh Water said it needed time to consider the contents of the letter before action before responding.

“We take our responsibility for protecting the environment seriously, and over the next five years will invest £2.5 billion to improve the environment,” they added.

Leigh Day will meanwhile hold an event at Hereford’s Left Bank on the evening of Thursday February 20 for residents to discuss its claim.